. >> ready to protect middle-class families from the fiscal cliff that they're facing by freezing the tax rates for the first $250,000 of all americans' income and letting the rates go up to the same level they were during the clinton administration. republicans know where we stand. we've said it. we've said it. we've said it so many times, the president's said the same thing. >> and senator reid is correct, the president has been talking about this idea of raising taxes for the wealthiest among us all during the campaign and even longer. now republicans say that you know there's been way too much focus on this whole tax issue or on the tax side of things. there needs to be a lot more emphasis on spending cuts. let's listen to what house speaker john boehner had to say about that. >> right now, all eyes are on the white house. the country doesn't need a victory lap. it needs leadership. it's time for the president, congressional democrats, to tell the american people what spending cuts they're really willing to make. >> now, republicans believe that the cuts on the table, $400 million